Many gaming machines are becoming increasingly complex in the current gaming market. Some of these gaming machines have features and components that enable the play of multiple games on one machine. Accordingly, a wide variety of hardware and/or software is often installed on these multifaceted gaming machines. As the complexity and number of gaming options that are available on a gaming machine increases, it becomes progressively more difficult to monitor and to track the use of these gaming machines, much less to monitor and to track the use of particular applications that are running on each of the gaming machines.
For instance, a gaming machine having several gaming options may have multiple supporting software programs for the games and for the hardware devices necessary to play the games. As the gaming machines are updated or serviced, different versions of the software and different hardware devices are often installed, removed, overwritten, or otherwise rendered obsolete. Accordingly, it is difficult, if not impossible, to continuously monitor and to track all of the current applications running on a specific gaming machine.
The difficulties associated with monitoring and tracking the use of gaming machines can, in some instances, result in an undesirable level of vulnerability to tampering. Unfortunately, players or employees may attempt to develop methods of tampering with the software or hardware already installed on a gaming machine. For example, if a particular software program has been in circulation for a long period of time, multiple versions of the software may have been developed. In this regard, new software versions are sometimes developed (with relatively minor changes), in response to the discovery that earlier versions of the software contained errors that potentially could be exploited to allow tampering. Thus, tampering could occur if someone simply reinstalled the more vulnerable earlier version of the software.
The traditional systems for monitoring and tracking the installation of software on a gaming machine typically rely on identifiers, such as globally unique identifiers, version information, or installation information. Thus, a person wishing to tamper with the software of a gaming machine might change only a few lines of code, or might use a prior version, that although valid at one time, is no longer valid, to circumvent many of the security and authorization systems and methods that are currently in use.
Additionally, the gaming industry is undergoing regulatory changes that may allow the use of a non-volatile storage memory device, such as a hard drive in a gaming machine. The adoption of these various types of non-volatile storage memory will only further compound the problems of assuring that the proper software versions, as well as related hardware, are being installed and used on the gaming machines.
A system and method for monitoring, tracking, and verifying the installation and use of a wide variety of software and hardware is needed. In particular, a system and method is required that can monitor, track, and verify the additions, deletions, changes, and updates that routinely affect gaming machines. A continuing need exists to prevent older versions of software from being used in a gaming machine after a new version has been installed.
Accordingly, there has been a long existing need for a rollback attack prevention system that improves the security of gaming machines by verifying that software is authorized for installation and use. Further, there is a continuing need for a rollback attack prevention system that prevents the installation and use of unauthorized software. Accordingly, those skilled in the art have long recognized the need for a rollback attack prevention system and method that addresses these and other issues.